A typical display device displays an image using a fixed range of luminance levels. For many displays, the luminance range has 256 levels that are uniformly spaced from 0 to 255. Image code values are generally assigned to match these levels directly.
In many electronic devices with large displays, the displays are the primary power consumers. For example, in a laptop computer, the display is likely to consume more power than any of the other components in the system. Many displays with limited power availability, such as those found in battery-powered devices, may use several illumination or brightness levels to help manage power consumption. A system may use a full-power mode when it is plugged into a power source, such as A/C power, and may use a power-save mode when operating on battery power.
In some devices, a display may automatically enter a power-save mode, in which the display illumination is reduced to conserve power. These devices may have multiple power-save modes in which illumination is reduced in a step-wise fashion. Generally, when the display illumination is reduced, image quality drops as well. When the maximum luminance level is reduced, the dynamic range of the display is reduced and image contrast suffers. Therefore, the contrast and other image qualities are reduced during typical power-save mode operation.
Many display devices, such as liquid crystal displays (LCDs) or digital micro-mirror devices (DMDs), use light valves which are backlit, side-lit or front-lit in one way or another. In a backlit light valve display, such as an LCD, a backlight is positioned behind a liquid crystal panel. The backlight radiates light through the LC panel, which modulates the light to register an image. Both luminance and color can be modulated in color displays. The individual LC pixels modulate the amount of light that is transmitted from the backlight and through the LC panel to the user's eyes or some other destination. In some cases, the destination may be a light sensor, such as a coupled-charge device (CCD).
Some displays may also use light emitters to register an image. These displays, such as light emitting diode (LED) displays and plasma displays use picture elements that emit light rather than reflect light from another source.